


braiding hair and stargazing

by orphan_account



Series: when the water stills [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Human Allura, Mentions of War, merman Keith, very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 10:25:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11400660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Could…could we be friends?” He asks quietly, but completely sincere, glancing up at Allura’s face every few moments as if afraid of her reaction. She felt as if she melted a bit, endeared by his honest and open request. She nodded enthusiastically, a smile growing on her face.“Yes, I think we can be friends, Keith.”





	braiding hair and stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> what can i say? i really like merman keith

The summer wind was absolutely horrendous. Not only was it kicking up all kinds of sand along the beachfront, it was dragging Allura’s hair across her face constantly. She was frequently inhaling grains of sand or a mouthful of her silver locks, all for the sake of her daily stroll on the beach.

Allura sighed as another bought of wind knocked her hair into face again. She had haphazardly thrown it into a ponytail, but that seemed to do no good. Glancing around, Allura spotted an alcove along the cliff side farther ahead that could shelter her from the winds.

With renewed energy, Allura trudged through the sand as it shifted beneath her, making her way resolutely to shelter. When she reached the area, she was delighted to find that a small pool of water rested at the edge of the rock, leading out into the ocean and seemingly untouched by humans.

She pulled up the skirt of her sundress and sat down as comfortably as she could on the rough rock, and dipped her feet experimentally into the water. It was a bit colder than the open water, but no less pleasant. She sighed and tipped her head back, finally taking a moment to relax.

Until a large gust of wind managed to sneak into her moment of solace, throwing all of her hair over her head in a disorganized mess. Allura almost screamed, but held it back in favor a displeased growl. She was in the midst of trying to tame her mass of hair when she heard an unmistakable but timid voice speak up.

“I could b-braid it for you?”

Allura whipped her head around, trying to locate the source of the noise before her eyes settled on a wet mop of dark hair, atop a curious head that barely hovered above the water at the far end of the pool. Curious amethyst eyes stared at Allura as she sat confused, and slightly worried.

“What are you doing in the water?” She queried, raising a brow and tilting her head. “You could get carried away by the tide, you know.” There was an almost admonishing lilt to her voice, but a touch of concern painted her words. After all, she wouldn’t want this stranger to come to harm.

The figure simply shook his head, before swimming a little closer. He rose up out of the water a bit more, revealing a freckled nose and a small mouth, leading down to a soft chin. Whoever he was opened their mouth to speak again, revealing slightly pointed canines.

“I’m not worried about the tides. The ocean is my friend.” He looks hesitant for a moment, biting his lip in worry, before speaking again. “I saw you struggling with your hair…I thought maybe I could braid it for you?” He looked hopeful, rocking forward as if to gauge Allura’s reaction. He spoke even lower, almost a mumble. “It just looked so pretty…”

Allura chuckled lightheartedly, shrugging her shoulders. “I suppose you could braid my hair if you’d like.” She pats the rock next to her invitingly, giving the figure a small smile. “Don’t be shy, I won’t bite” He seems to relax at that, as if he had previously been worried she _would_ bite him. “What is your name?” She tilts her head, curious to know his answer.

“It’s Keith.” He says quietly, slowly moving towards her in the water. Allura smiles brightly.

“That’s a lovely name, Keith. I am Allura.” He blinks at her, before smiling as well. Eventually he reaches the rock that Allura is sitting on, and he moves his arms to brace himself on the rock above him. With a heave, he pushes up onto the rock in one motion, revealing a pale torso and-

A tail. He had a tail.

It was a beautiful thing, tapering out from his jutting hipbones, covered in glistening red scales that refracted the light around them, giving them an almost ethereal glow. Paper thin fins rested on the sides of the tail, fluttering slightly out of the water and folding neatly against his side. As he turned himself around to settle onto the rock, Allura caught a glimpse of his large tail fin in the water, spreading out luxuriously like a fan of lace. Words were failing her in that moment.

Keith turned back to her, only to be met with wide eyes and the most genuine shock Allura had ever felt. She quickly drew in a breath to calm herself, eyes sweeping over his tail one last time before rising to meet his gaze. He seemed nervous, as if he expected Allura to turn tail (ha) and run the minute she saw him. Though it was surely a shock to her to see a man with a fish tail, she imagined he was far more afraid than she could be in that moment. She smiled reassuringly before speaking up.

“Your tail is beautiful. Do you take care of it often?” She stopped herself from reaching out to stroke the smooth-looking scales, thinking it would be improper to touch before asking no matter what species she was dealing with.

He lets out a large sigh, as if he had been holding his breath, before he shrugs and makes a noncommittal sound. “Not really. I guess because I swim around so much, the currents clean them for me.” He smiles and then gestures to her hair. “Can I?” He’s reaching out now, and Allura suddenly remembers the reason he pulled himself up next to her in the first place.

“Yes, of course. Go right ahead.” She grins at him before turning to let her hair face him. She can feel thin fingers take hold of her hair, gently taming the tangles out bit by bit. Allura sighed lightly, allowing herself to relax as Keith started to braid her hair with surprising deftness.

Soon Keith gently tapped her shoulder, holding up a large braid that swayed gently in his hands. With a smile Allura took it from him, bringing it over her shoulder and running a tentative hand over it.

“It’s wonderful!” She’s smiling brightly, turning her gaze from the braid to Keith. “How did you learn?”

He ducks his head in a sudden bought of shyness, before mumbling, “I learned by watching the people who come to the beach…” His tail swishes through the water gently, and he fiddles with his hands in his lap. There are small patches of red scales decorating the backs of his hands, catching the light every once in a while as he moves his hands around. He takes a deep breath before speaking again. “I’ve always been drawn to the beach. It’s like there’s this…energy there that draws me in. All the people, the lights at night…” He trails off, his gaze now turned to the beach behind them.

“But you can’t ever go up and see them, can you?” Allura asks, her voice low as if she might scare him by stating the obvious. He heaves a sigh and turns back to her, nodding sadly. “Then why did you trust me? You had no reason to believe that I would not be hostile.” She stares at Keith, wonder in her eyes at this merman who had chosen to reveal himself to her.

“Oh, it wasn’t that I trusted you. I just figured it would be easier to try and get away from you if you tried to catch me, because of the hair.” He grins toothily, his sharp canines glinting. Allura jerks back, surprised and a bit offended. She almost had a mind to push him back in the water.

“Excuse me! I could catch you perfectly fine, hair or no hair.” Her face is painted with indignation, but Keith is only laughing at her show of offence. Allura crosses her arms and pouts, turning away from him petulantly. She can hear him sputtering and saying something like “there’s so much hair!” but she’s not interested in listening to him at the moment. Finally, he stops flailing behind her and settles down quietly.

She hears Keith clear his throat behind her but she only huffs, not turning around. When she feels a tentative tap at her shoulder, she turns her head only slightly to look at the merman next to her. He looks cautious, but determined, so she turns to face him fully.

“Could…could we be friends?” He asks quietly, but completely sincere, glancing up at Allura’s face every few moments as if afraid of her reaction. She felt as if she melted a bit, endeared by his honest and open request. She nodded enthusiastically, a smile growing on her face.

“Yes, I think we can be friends, Keith.”

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Allura did her best to stop by the beach as often as she could, checking in on that small cove to see if Keith was there. Sometimes she would sit on the rock while he swam around lazily, discussing small things together. Other times, she would wade into the water with him, talking and occasionally splashing each other playfully.

They developed an easy friendship, and Allura looked forward to the time they spent together. She enjoyed learning about Keith and his people just as much as he anticipated learning of humans. They would trade stories and little tidbits of culture, so much so that they fell into a pattern, offering up a piece of information every time they saw one another.

Keith’s favorite thing about humans was their penchant for mystery, and their search of the unknown. He particularly enjoyed when Allura told him of cryptids and aliens, and man’s never ending search to prove of their existence. He scoffed at the fact that some believed there were aliens within the ocean depths, but didn’t elaborate despite Allura’s questioning.

Allura’s favorite thing about the merpeople was the grand ceremonies they would have to celebrate the ocean, and the life it gave them. Keith had told her of these celebrations, and how it took almost a week to prepare for them, with hunting for enough food, and gathering all the supplies to properly decorate. It sounded grand and glorious, appealing Allura’s taste for grandeur.

Occasionally Allura would visit Keith at night, and they would watch the stars together. Those nights were always quiet, hushed as if sound would break the magic of the night sky. Allura liked to point to the constellations and whisper their names, explain their meaning in a soft voice. When Keith asked her how she knew so many, she would simply shake her head and continue to gaze at the stars.

One night, however, she spoke up about it for the first time. She was perched on the rock they usually sat on together, gazing up at the sky. She took a deep breath, before shifting to lean back on her hands.

“I used to memorize the stars with my father.”

Keith started slightly, not expecting her to speak. More times than not, they didn’t speak at all while looking at the stars. But whatever it was about that night had prompted Allura to speak, so Keith stayed quiet while waiting for her to speak again.

“It was something he used to do with my mother, before she passed away. She died when I was young. When I was old enough to understand, he started taking me out to see the stars too.” She breathed in the night air, pausing momentarily to look down at her lap. “He would take me out every clear night, until he had to leave.” Her voice was trembling slightly, but if anything, she sounded strong despite it. Keith admired her more than ever in that moment. “Our country went to war, and it needed all the able-bodied soldiers it could find to defend us. Of course my father volunteered. That was the kind of man he was.” Allura looks up at the stars suddenly, and if Keith noticed a few tears falling down her face, he didn’t comment. “He visited as often as he could, but it was war so there wasn’t much he could do. He had managed to rise up the ranks so that limited his time further.” She smiles sadly, still staring up at the sky. “I was proud of everything he was doing for our country, everything he did, even if I wished he could home. Even…” Her voice cracks slightly, and she reaches up to wipe at her eyes furiously. “…even if I wished he had been able to come home one more time.” Allura looks down at her lap again, before turning to look at Keith.

“Thank you. For looking at the stars with me.” She places her hand softly on his. Keith looks at their hands and resists the sudden urge to lace their fingers. “I haven’t had anyone to look at the stars with since he died, so it means a lot that you are here.” When Keith looks up, Allura’s eyes are on him, and suddenly he can’t look away.

She’s beautiful, even with tears streaking her face, her eyes red from crying, and her hair in a messy bun that she didn’t bother to fix when she came out that night. He wants to brush away a stray hair on her face, but he can’t seem to move, can’t seem to do anything when she’s staring at him like that, with sparkling eyes and a small smile curved on her lips. He draws in a shuddering breath, trying to remember how to breathe above water.

And then, as if she’s actually trying to kill him, Allura smiles, dazzling and brighter than any of the insignificant spots above them in the sky.

Keith can’t help but smile back, a sudden joy curling inside him at the sight of Allura next to him, looking ethereal under the moonlight.

**Author's Note:**

> i might write some more for this, not sure tho. it was fun to write so maybe if i'm feeling it at some point i'll add on more


End file.
